The Enjoyment of Complexity: A New Political Anthropology for the Anthropocene?

The concept of the Anthropocene calls for a new political anthropology that focuses on human enjoyment of a complex world. The global scale of human influence on the environment means that we are embedded in various social, economic, and — especially — ecological contexts that are inseparably connected. Therefore, as I will show, even though the Anthropocene originated as a geological description of a new Earth period, it is by necessity an ethical and normative reflexive concept as well. Depending on what framework of political anthropology is used, the ethical and normative aspects of the Anthropocene can be considered either in an institutional or in a conflict model. With reference to these two models, I will finally show why a paradigm change in political anthropology—from the Homo sapiens pauper of Hobbes to the Homo sapiens luxus of Sloterdijk—might be reasonable and realistic as a way of establishing dams against human self-destruction in the Anthropocene.The Enjoyment of Complexity: A New Political Anthropology for theAnthropocene? Kersten, J. In: Anthropocene - Envisionig the Future of the Age of Humans (Trischler, H.). RCC-Perspectives 2, 39-55. 2013. Rahcel Carson Center, Munich